Section 269 — Estimation of value of assets by Valuation Officer. Successor to s.142A of the 1961 Act.
Section 269 is in Chapter XVI — Procedure for Assessment, which runs from section 268 to section 301.
Sub-section (1) allows the Assessing Officer, for the purposes of assessment or reassessment, to refer to a Valuation Officer the estimation of the value, including fair market value, of any asset, property or investment, and to require a copy of the report. Sub-section (2) makes clear the reference may be made whether or not he is satisfied about the correctness or completeness of the accounts.
Sub-section (3) gives the Valuation Officer, and any engineer, overseer, surveyor or assessor authorised by him, the powers needed. Clause (a), subject to rules and at prescribed reasonable times, allows entry on land within the Valuation Officer's assigned area; entry on land, a building or other place belonging to or occupied by the person whose assessment is concerned; and inspection of the asset, property or investment referred. Clause (b) allows them to require the person in charge, occupation or possession to afford facility to survey or inspect it, estimate its value, or inspect books, documents or records relevant to the valuation. Clause (c) requires entry under clause (a)(ii) or inspection under clause (a)(iii) to be with the consent of that person, after at least two days' notice in writing. Clause (d) gives the Valuation Officer, where facility is refused or evaded, all the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 as to discovery and inspection, enforcing attendance including of an officer of a banking company and examining him on oath, compelling production of books and documents, and issuing commissions.
Sub-section (4) requires the estimate to be made after taking into account the assessee's evidence and any other evidence gathered, and after giving him an opportunity of being heard. Sub-section (5) allows a best judgment estimate where the assessee does not co-operate or comply with directions. Sub-section (6) requires the report to be sent to the Assessing Officer and the assessee. Sub-section (7) allows the Valuation Officer to amend the report to rectify a mistake apparent from the record, as per section 287. Sub-section (8) allows the Assessing Officer, after giving the assessee an opportunity of being heard, to take the report into account in the assessment or reassessment. Sub-section (9) requires the report within six months from the end of the month in which the reference is made. Sub-section (10) provides for the appointment of Valuation Officers by the Central Government and of assisting engineers, overseers, surveyors and assessors by the Principal Chief Commissioner, Chief Commissioner, Principal Commissioner or Commissioner.
Value is a question of expert judgement rather than of records, and an Assessing Officer is not equipped to form it. The section supplies an independent valuer with statutory powers of entry and, where co-operation fails, the powers of a civil court, then hedges the exercise with the protections a valuation needs to be usable — consent and notice for entry, a hearing before the estimate, a copy of the report to the assessee, and a second hearing before the Assessing Officer relies on it.
| What | Figure | The condition on it | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice before entry on the assessee's land, building or place, or inspection of the referred asset | At least two days' notice in writing | Entry or inspection under sub-section (3)(a)(ii) or (a)(iii) must also be with the consent of the person in charge of, or in occupation or possession of, the property | Sub-section (3)(c) |
| Time limit for the Valuation Officer's report | Six months from the end of the month in which the reference is made | Applies to the report referred to in sub-section (6), whether the estimate is made under sub-section (4) or under sub-section (5) | Sub-section (9) |
Sub-section (2) answers the commonest challenge to a reference: no dissatisfaction with the books is required, so a reference cannot be resisted on the ground that the accounts were accepted. Two consequences follow from sub-sections (4) to (8): there are two separate hearings, one before the Valuation Officer and another before the Assessing Officer, and the report going to the assessee under sub-section (6) is what makes the second one meaningful. Refusing access has a cost — sub-section (5) permits a best judgment estimate, and sub-section (3)(d) hands the Valuation Officer civil court powers of discovery, attendance on oath and production. The consent and two days' notice requirement attaches to entry under clause (a)(ii) and inspection under clause (a)(iii), and is not stated for entry on land within the assigned area under clause (a)(i).
An Assessing Officer reassessing a company refers the value of a factory building to a Valuation Officer in May. The Valuation Officer gives three days' written notice, enters with the occupier's consent, hears the company's evidence of cost, and sends his report to both the Assessing Officer and the company — and it must go out within six months from the end of May. Had the company refused access, he could have estimated the value to the best of his judgment and used the civil court powers to compel production of the construction records.
The assessee meets it first as the written notice of intended inspection under sub-section (3)(c), then as the valuation report sent to him under sub-section (6), and finally as the hearing offered by the Assessing Officer under sub-section (8) before the report is used in the order.
The Assessing Officer may make a reference to the Valuation Officer under sub-section (1) whether or not he is satisfied about the correctness or completeness of the accounts of the assessee.
The Valuation Officer shall send the report referred to in sub-section (6) within six months from the end of the month in which the reference is made under sub-section (1).
See the full 1961 to 2025 concordance.
All of them are in the Rules 2026 index.
See the notifications index.